Numerous padlock constructions have been developed and are widely employed by individuals to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to any particular item or area which has been closed and locked. Although many locks are constructed to be opened by a key, numerous combination lock constructions have been developed which are opened by knowledge of a particular combination.
One particular type of combination lock that has become very popular due to its ease and convenience of use is a combination lock which employs a plurality of rotatable independent dials, each of which forms one of the indicia, usually numerals or letters, which comprise the combination for releasing the lock. Typically, the combination lock has one mode or position in which the user is able to set or reset the desired combination sequence. Although locks of this general nature have been available for several decades, these prior art combination lock constructions suffer from common deficiencies which have not been successfully overcome.
Although many manufacturers have attempted to solve the problems associated with rotatable dial or combination locks, one principal difficulty and drawback these prior art constructions have been unable to overcome is a construction which is resistant to unwanted opening or breakage. In this regard, these prior art rotatable dial or combination locks are constructed in a manner which enables unauthorized individuals desiring to gain access to the lock item or area to open the padlock by merely applying the force to the locked shackle. Due to the typical construction of these prior art padlocks, these padlocks do not possess any substantial resistance to the application of a pulling force when applied to the shackle in an attempt to withdraw the shackle from the housing. As a result, the application of such a pulling force causes the shackle to become disengaged from the housing, enabling access to the item or area to be attained.
In addition, it has been found that many of these prior art padlocks are employed by individuals to secure their luggage or suitcases during travel. In this regard, in airplane travel, new regulations and requirements allow customs officers or transit security personnel to physically break any padlock in order to gain access to luggage which is deemed suspicious. Under these new security regulations, all luggage must be scanned or inspected to prevent the transportation of potentially dangerous items or products which are deemed to be undesirable. In those instances when luggage is scanned and further visual inspection is required, the inspectors have the authority to open the luggage for visual inspection, including physically breaking any padlock which may be on the luggage.
With these new regulations presently implemented, all prior art systems which are incapable of being opened by inspectors and/or security personnel are subject to being physically broken, in order to gain access to any luggage which needs to be visually inspected. As a result, consumers are faced with the possibility that any like system employed to protect the contents of the suitcase can be physically removed by security personnel, leaving the luggage completely unprotected during the remainder of the trip.
In order to eliminate the possibility of having a padlock completely broken by security personnel, newer prior art padlocks have been constructed with two separate and independent locking systems formed in a single padlock, with both locking systems independently enabling a single shackle to be released and/or lockingly engaged. In this way, by employing either a key activation zone or a combination activation zone, the padlock can be opened. Furthermore, padlocks of this general construction employ key controlled constructions which are open using master keys which are in the possession of security personnel. In this way, security personnel are able to open these padlocks for inspecting the contents of the luggage, and then re-lock the padlock in place after the inspection has been completed.
Although these dual locking prior art padlocks have generally resolved the difficulty encountered with transit security personnel inspecting luggage, the continuing problem of padlocks being easily broken by unauthorized individuals by merely forcing the shackle to separate from the housing has not been addressed. In addition, another problem that has recently developed is a requirement that all padlocks should be capable of automatically relocking after being opened by the master key. In this way, valuable time is saved for the security personnel by eliminating the need for the padlock to be re-lock in place using the master key.
In addition, another problem area and drawback which prior art constructions have been unable to overcome is a construction which assures the user that a preset combination will not be accidentally or inadvertently altered or changed, without the user's knowledge. In such instances when the known combination is unknowingly changed or altered without the user's knowledge, the entire combination lock is incapable of future use, since the user is typically unable to release the shackle from locked engagement with the housing.
Another common problem which has consistently plagued prior art constructions is the cost of construction for producing and assembling prior art padlocks, whether the padlock is key operated, combination operated, or dual. In order to attain a padlock which provides all of the features desired by consumers, prior art constructions typically incorporate numerous small components, each of which require expensive assembly procedures to produce the final product. As a result, these prior art lock constructions are expensive to produce, thereby reducing the ability of these locks to reach a broad base of consumers.
Another problem commonly found with prior art padlocks is the inability of these prior art constructions to prevent contaminants from reaching the rotatable, internal component of the lock, thereby causing damage to these components or interfering with the ease of operating the lock by an individual who either knows the actual combination or has the activating key. Although numerous attempts have been made to reduce the adverse effects caused by contaminants reaching these components, such attempts have been incapable of completely eliminating in this problem.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a padlock construction which is specifically designed for effective operation in high security applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a high security padlock construction having the characteristic features described above which virtually eliminates the ability of unauthorized persons from gaining access to the lock by attempting to pick the lock, using known techniques, or open the lock by force.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a high security padlock construction having the characteristic features described above which employs a minimum of components and is quickly and easily assembled, thereby providing a lock capable of being constructed at a competitive price.
Another object to the present invention is to provide a high security padlock having the characteristic features described above which effectively seals the rotating components from external contamination and effectively prevents any external contaminants from reaching the rotating components and thereof.
Other and more specific object will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.